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Youngstown Buys Land Where Phar-Mor Centre Sits
By George NelsonYOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- The city Board of Control this morning voted to purchase the land on which the Phar-Mor Centre stands but not the building itself for $850,000, subject to approval by City Council.The city was obligated to pay the owners of the land $1.7 million -- $100,000 per year until 2021, officials said.As city attorney Greg Morgione explained, the Wick family leased the property to the Strouss-Hirshberg Co., which in the 1940s assigned its lease to the May Co. In the late 1980s, May assigned the lease to the city of Youngstown, which in turn assigned it to Strouss Building Associates, which redeveloped the former department store to serve as the Phar-Mor Inc. chain's corporate headquarters. SBA also leased office and retail space to other tenants. Strouss Building Associates has struggled financially with the property since 1992 when Phar-Mor first filed bankruptcy under Chapter 11. The drugstore chain went out of business 10 years later. Strouss Building Associates stopped paying rent in January 2003, Morgione said, causing the Wick heirs to sue the May Co., which brought the city into the case because it had assigned the lease to the city. "The city is taking over the interest of the Wick heirs, so in essence the case will die," he said. "The city was on the hook under this lease until 2021 - another 17 years -- at $100,000 a year." Down the road the city may pursue legal avenues to acquire the building itself, he added.Strouss Building Associates has title to the building and Bank One has a mortgage on it. This summer, an unidentified buyer -- which a source confirmed as the Cafaro Co. -- blocked the city's attempt to acquire the mortgage on the building in Youngstown's effort to have the Phar Mor Centre house the Mahoning County Department of Job and Family Services. The county agency is in the McGuffey Mall, a Cafaro property, on the east side.The Board of Control removed from its agenda voting on a bid to buy the Wick Building, owned by the city. Attorney Percer Squire, who operates two radio stations -- WGFT-AM and WRBP-FM-- in the building, had offered $100,000 and pledged to spend another $280,000 to upgrade the structure.But another potential buyer, Pan-Bros. Associates Inc. of New York, has told the city it, too, wants to buy the building. As a result, the city is seeking proposals by Dec. 10.In other business, the Board of Control approved two change orders related to work on the Youngstown Convocation Center. The city approved an additional $9,283 payment to Bruce & Merilees Electric Co., New Castle, Pa., for modifications to the underground electrical service issued by the project architects after the contract was awarded. The contract has been adjusted to $120,946.A.P. O'Horo Co. of Youngstown was awarded an additional $16,000 to cover the cost of furnishing and installing dock leveler equipment, bringing its total contract to $1,636,000. The city received no proposals for the equipment when it was twice bid separately, so the city negotiated with O'Horo to include the equipment in its bid. Carmen Conglose, deputy director of public works, said the additional amount is "significantly under the architect's estimate for that work." The board also approved an agreement for businessman Peter A. Amon to lease the former Strausbaugh car dealership building for 90 days at $100 a month, while city officials work on a development agreement for the property. Amon plans to locate two existing businesses and five new companies in the building. Jeff Chagnot, city economic development director, said the building "is in extremely dire shape in terms of its current condition" and that Amon plans to spend close to $250,000 on renovations. "It's a property that is not really active and it's a blighting influence on Wick Avenue, so we're hopeful with this transaction we'll get some new life in the building and create some employment opportunities," he said. "